The birth of Asa Wright

In 1946, the Springhill Estate, a 173-acre cocoa and coffee plantation situated in the Arima Valley, seven and a quarter miles from Arima along the Blanchisseuse Road, was purchased by Newcome Wright, a retired English attorney and his Icelandic-born wife Asa, and became their home.

Then in 1950, Dr William Beebe, the internationally acclaimed explorer, naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, entomologist, and author, purchased a parcel of land in the Arima Valley which he named “Simla”.

With Beebe in residence, Simla became the Tropical Research Station of the New York Zoological Society. The facility was used as residence and laboratory by many scientists studying various aspects of tropical wildlife.

The rich wildlife of the Arima Valley was highlighted in articles written and published by Beebe and his fellow scientists. These attracted the attention of naturalists and birdwatchers to the area and Beebe persuaded the Wrights to offer accommodation to people wishing to visit.

Among the early visitors were Don Eckelberry, an internationally acclaimed bird artist and his wife Virginia, who became frequent visitors to Springhill. A strong relationship developed between the Eckelberrys and the Wrights.

Newcome died in 1955 and Asa continued to live on the premises.

Advancing age and failing health made friends concerned that with her passing the property may fall into disrepair.

Eckelberry, Russ Mason, Joseph Copeland, and Erma “Jonny” Fisk persuaded Asa to sell Springhill to a group of concerned naturalists to establish a conservation and study area for the preservation of Springhill and its wildlife.

The agreed price of US$75,000 was raised by public donations and the deed of transfer from Asa Wright to the Royal Bank of Canada Trust Company was signed in October 1967. The Asa Wright Nature Centre was officially opened by Sir Hugh Wooding, the Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago, on November 5, 1967.

Asa continued to live on the premises, a condition of the sale, until her death on February 6,1971.

There was no mail or telephone service to Springhill and communication with prospective guests was difficult, and as a result the occupancy level of the guest facility, the centre’s only source of income, was very low and the doors were kept open through “interest-free loans” from some of the US board members. In 1974 the New York Zoological Society donated its Simla property to the centre.

In 1974,with the appointment of Wonder Bird Tours of Manhattan, New York, as the nature centre’s booking agent, guest arrivals increased and so did revenue. In 1984 Caligo Ventures of Armonk, New York, replaced Wonder Bird Tours and after 34 years continues as the booking agent. The centre is recognised internationally as an ideal destination for birdwatchers and naturalists and enjoys a high level of repeat visitors.

Operating surplus is used to purchase forested lands and abandoned cocoa estates for the protection of the watershed and wildlife habitat. Today the nature centre owns 1,400 acres of forested lands in the Arima and Aripo Valleys.

In keeping with its mandate it conducts various environmental education programmes and provides the opportunity for its guide/ interpreters to obtain working experience at nature centres in the US.

Mention must be made of the contributions of its dedicated staff and especially that of Lawrence Calderon and Jogie Ramlal, both residents of the Arima Valley who over the years developed into knowledgeable “birding guides”.

Increasing quarrying activities in the Arima Valley are destroying the environment and threatening the existence of the centre.

This destruction must cease.

Happy 49th birthday to the Asa Wright Nature Centre